CNN has chosen Overture as its exclusive commercial search provider to provide paid search listings for three of its News Group web properties. Overture Services, which claims to be the world's leading provider of Pay-For-Performance, will provide its paid search listings for CNN.com, the No. 1 news and information site on the Web; CNNSI.com; and CNNMoney.com. These three Web properties will add customised search boxes to their home pages, section fronts and story pages, serving Overture's top five commercial results under the heading, "Sponsored Results."

An official release informs that the CNN.com Web sites, widely used as sources of news and information, average more than one billion page views monthly. Both Media Metrix and Nielsen NetRatings had reported that CNN.com attracted more than 17 million unique users during the months of August, September and October. Individually, CNNSI.com and CNNMoney.com draw approximately 6 million Internet users per month, according to Media Metrix and Neilsen NetRatings.

The release also states that Overture's search listings are generated by its base of 73,000 advertisers who bid for placement on keywords relevant to their business. The company's editorial team carefully screens these listings before they are distributed to its affiliate partner network, which includes MSN, Yahoo! and Lycos. Overture currently operates Pay-For-Performance search networks in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan.

Overture claims to have created the market for Pay-For-Performance search by redefining how businesses market online. In the third quarter 2002, Overture facilitated 500 million paid introductions on a worldwide basis between consumers and its approximately 73,000 advertisers, who bid for placement on relevant search results. These advertisers pay Overture only when a consumer clicks on their listing. Following a rigorous screening for user relevance by Overture's editorial team, the company distributes its search results to tens of thousands of Web sites across the Internet, including MSN, Lycos and Yahoo! -- making it the largest Pay-For-Performance search and advertising network on the Internet.